


The Zoo: Part Two

by Jude81



Series: Tumblr Prompts [9]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, baby clexa, sequel to The Zoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 20:45:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17230934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jude81/pseuds/Jude81
Summary: Tumblr Prompt: This time maybe with clarke being all jealous lexa spends more time with Costia instead of her? (Tiny Clarke may have intentionally gotten herself lost so bae Lexa would have to find her)





	The Zoo: Part Two

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to The Zoo.

Clarke sat on the stone steps, chest tight against her knees, fingers playing with the loose pebbles around her feet. She was somewhere in the zoo, at least she thought she still was in the zoo. It was hard to tell since the zoo was so large with an attached amusement park and a water park. She thought she might be near the water park, judging from the happy screams she could hear off in the distance, but she wasn’t sure. She’d never been to the water park. She couldn’t swim.

She’d come to the zoo with Lexa and Lexa’s fathers, and they’d raced around the zoo, holding hands laughing until they’d made it to the penguin exhibit. It was their favorite spot, the spot where they’d met two years earlier when Clarke was four and Lexa was seven. Both had been lost, but had found each other, and been inseparable ever since.

Except they were no longer inseparable. They’d run into Costia at the big cat sanctuary. The girl was new to their school, a year older than Lexa, and smarter and funnier than Clarke. She sighed, tears pricking her eyes. Costia was prettier than her too, with her smooth long hair, big dark eyes. Clarke’s own hair was frizzy and wild, her curls usually tangled rather than laying softly along her shoulders. Normally she didn’t care, but Lexa looked at Costia like she was…special.

She picked at the laces on her shoes, finally having managed to graduate from Velcro strap sneakers. Her fingers were clumsy, a little fat, something she hadn’t ever noticed before; not until Costia had pointed it out.

_“Come on, Lexie, let’s go on the go-carts,” the older girl had tugged on Lexa’s hand, trying to pry her away from Clarke._

_Lexa hesitated, turning to look at Clarke, worry furrowing her brow. “Do you want to go?”_

_When Clarke nodded, she turned back to Costia, excitement bubbling in her belly. “Ok, we’ll all go.”_

_Costia frowned and sighed, “We can’t. Clarke isn’t big enough or old enough.”_

_“Oh, well we should do something that all of us can do then,” muttered Lexa, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice._

_“Look it’s just one ride. I’m sure Clarke won’t mind. It isn’t your fault, she is still a baby.”_

_Clarke grit her teeth, arms straight at her sides. She wasn’t a baby. She was old enough to recognize the snide mockery in Costia’s voice._

_And the hot feeling in her belly had only grown when she’d noticed her shoe was untied, and she’d bent to tie it, her fingers not overly coordinated. She’d fumbled a little, taking three times to tie her shoe after she’d shaken her head at Lexa, when Lexa offered to help. And Costia had muttered something about Clarke having fat baby hands._

_She shook her head, “It’s ok, Lexa.”_

_“Ok, stay here. And we will be back after one ride.”_

Except one ride had turned into two and then three. Clarke could still hear the echoes of Lexa’s laughter in her ears, and something had burned hot in her belly, but her chest had felt hollow and cold, and she’d left, run away in anger.

Her skin prickled just thinking about it. Her intent had been to simply get away from Costia’s smug looks and Lexa’s laughter, but then she’d realized her running away was the perfect solution. It would serve Lexa right to worry about her, since she’d so easily forgotten about Clarke in the face of Costia’s big eyes and long, straight hair.

Except now she was truly lost. She’d wandered around aimlessly for a while, until she’d been tired and thirsty and had finally stopped and sat down on the steps. She sighed, hot tears running down her face. She rubbed at them, smearing them across her cheeks.

She was a baby. She was lost and crying, and all she wanted was Lexa.

********************************

“We have to find her!” Lexa paced around near the go-carts, anxiety gnawing at her belly. She knew she should have said no to the go-carts, should have stayed with Clarke, and now she was gone.

Gustus put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her mid-stride. “We will find, Lexa. Everything will be ok. Where would she go?”

Ryder approached at a lope, waving at them. “I notified security and gave them an updated picture of her.” Clarke had become like a second daughter to him, she and Lexa inseparable for the last two years, so he carried pictures of Clarke in his wallet along side the pictures of Lexa. He tried to keep the worry out of his voice.

“Gustus,” he murmured waving his husband over. He kept his voice low, not wanting to let the anxious Lexa and clearly bored Costia hear him.

“Do you think she ran off, or is this something worse?”

Gustus shook his head, squeezing Ryder’s shoulder, before turning his attention back to Lexa. “Lexa, what happened? Did she leave on her own? Did you see anyone approach her?”

Lexa scrubbed at her eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay. She thought she was going to vomit. She should have been here. Should have stayed. “I-I don’t know,” her voice broke, and she looked down at her feet, tears dripping down and hitting the dirty concrete.

“Look, she’s a big baby, and probably ran off on her own. She was mad,” muttered Costia, clearly losing interest in the ensuing drama. She put her hands on her hips. “She was made.” She stressed the last word again staring hard at Lexa.

“But why would she be mad?”

“’Cuz she’s jealous. Of me,” sniffed Costia, tilting her head up and sighing a little. “Look, I’m going to call my mom to come get me. I will see you at school.” She pulled her small phone out of pink purse and called her mother to pick her up.

“Jealous? I don’t get it,” muttered Lexa looking up anxiously at her fathers, while Ryder stared at Costia in disbelief.

Gustus sighed and kneeled, pulling Lexa into his arms. “It’s ok, Little Bear. I think Costia means that Clarke might have felt a little left out. You and she are best friends, and she wasn’t big enough to ride the go-carts.” He pulled her into his arms, his heart breaking as more tears dripped down her cheeks.

“We have to find her, daddy.”

“We will, baby.”

*********************************

Ryder stayed with Costia until her mother picked her up, while Gustus and Lexa went off in search of Clarke. Once Costia’s mother had picked her up, Ryder set off in a different direction, and it was he who saw the small figure sitting on the stone steps near the water park.

He sat down next to her, relieved to see that despite her tears she seemed to be ok. “Hey there, little bird,” he murmured as his wrapped his arm around her small shoulders.

She burst into tears and leaned into his side, and he held her until her tears had turned to sniffles. He wiped her face with his handkerchief, kissing the top of her head. He pulled a bottle of water out of his bag and twisted off the top and handed it to her.

Clarke drank it eagerly, almost draining the bottle before she finally pulled it from her mouth. She wiped her hand across her lips and stared down at her shoes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“We were worried, little bird. Lexa has been frantic, crying.”

Clarke felt the hot tears salt her eyes again. “I didn’t mean to make her worry,” she whispered.

“Didn’t you?”

When Clarke said nothing, he chuckled and combed his fingers through her hair. “I get it, little bird. I remember when I first met Gustus, and how much I loved him, even as a boy. And then he made a new friend, and older friend.” He rubbed his chin, smiling a little at the memory. “Oh how I hated that older boy.”

“What happened?”

“Well what do you think?” He chuckled at the look of confusion on her face, before it dawned on her.

“You got married.”

“That we did, little bird. That we did.”

Clarke nodded, scrubbing at her face. “I’m gonna marry Lexa.”

“Well, how about you wait a few years,” chuckled Ryder. He leaned in closer and whispered, “I don’t like that Costia girl either.”

Clarke nodded, a small smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. They sat there in silence until they heard the pounding of small feet.

Clarke jumped up, excitement flooding her chest when she saw Lexa running towards her. She met her half-way, her small body colliding with Lexa’s slim form. She almost knocked her over, but Lexa held on tight, managing to keep them both upright.

“I’m so sorry, Lexa!”

“I’m sorry, Clarke! I didn’t mean to…”

“It was my fault! I shouldn’t have…”

“Are you ok? I’m sorry. I won’t ever leave you again!”

Clarke sighed in relief, the cold ache in chest melting away in the protection of Lexa’s arms.

“I was mad,” whispered Clarke, her face tucked into Lexa’s shoulder. She hated admitting it. She never got made at Lexa. It made her feel awful.

“I don’t like Costia. She called me a baby and took you away from me,” she confessed, tears welling in her eyes.

“You aren’t a baby, Clarke. Just little. You’ll grow. I shouldn’t have left you. I’m supposed to protect you.” She held Clarke close, unable to really process the profound relief she felt now that Clarke was back with her. She didn’t know what it meant, but all she knew was that she’d felt sick when she’d realized that Clarke was gone. Sicker than when she’d had pneumonia last year. She never wanted to feel it again.

“Ok, you two, I think we’ve had enough excitement for one day. How about we go get some burgers?”

Gustus chuckled and knelt, offering his back to Lexa, “Hop up, little bear.” Once she was secure on his back, he scooped Clarke up and put her on Ryder’s back.

The two men slowly made their way through the zoo, two little girls on their back, their hands clasped tight together.


End file.
